Startup carrier Connect Cargo preparing to launch [VIDEO]

[caption id="attachment_411660" align="alignright" width="461"] A Connect Cargo 737-400F at Recife Airport (REC).[/caption] Brazil-based all-cargo startup Connect Cargo is in the final phases of its Part 121 certification with Brazilian regulator ANAC and is preparing to launch with a pair of PEMCO-converted 737-400Fs following receipt of an AOC. Connect has already ferried two 737-400Fs to Brazil, both on lease from Vallair (27087, ex-Malaysia Airlines and 26605, ex-Japan Transocean Air). Although intra-Brazilian freighter operations represent a new frontier for Connect Cargo, the company’s owners have long been involved in bridging air cargo volumes between Asia and Brazil. In addition to block-space agreements on Cathay Pacific flights between Hong Kong (HKG) and the United States, Connect’s forwarding affiliate charters twice-weekly 747-400F flights between Hong Kong (HKG) and Miami (MIA) and onward to Manaus (MAO). Following the launch of commercial flights, Connect plans to handle domestic flight segments within Brazil for the cargo it moves into Brazil from Asia – transportation that today is handled by other Brazilian all-cargo carriers. Home to one of the country’s most active free-trade zones, Manaus is becoming a bustling industrial center and a booming hub for air cargo. Air cargo shipments moving into Manaus comprise of high-value components and sub-assemblies that fuel the region’s high-tech and automotive industries. Outbound freighter flights destined for other parts of Brazil, meanwhile, consist of finished consumer goods and electronics. From Manaus, Connect plans to operate scheduled flights to Recife and São Paulo, along with charters to other cities. Connect Cargo’s management tells Cargo Facts that its board has already approved the addition of a 767-200BDSF, which is expected to join the fleet in the fourth quarter. Due to the bulkiness of air cargo shipments coming out of Manaus, Connect says it can justify adding the medium widebody freighter because the shipments are for large completely-built units (CBUs), where chargeable weight is always a factor. Returning to Connect’s maiden aircraft, both units are owned by Vallair and were converted to freighter configuration by PEMCO prior to being ferried to Sao Jose dos Campos Airport (SJK) [FATs 004846-4847]. Both aircraft already have a Brazilian registration and comply with ANAC requirements.

Startup carrier Connect Cargo preparing to launch [VIDEO]

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